Conflating critics with terrorists in Turkey

The
government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is quick to brand critics as
"terrorists," and that's one of the main reasons that Turkey was the world's
worst jailer of the press when CPJ conducted its recent census
of imprisoned journalists. This week, the prime minister and two pro-government
newspapers applied the label once again to critics, illustrating the extremely
difficult climate confronting any Turkish journalist who challenges official
positions.

Speaking at a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday, Erdoğan lashed
out at commentators who criticize the policies of the Justice and
Development Party, or AKP. "These types who are named columnists do not know
their places when they criticize on TV, saying the AKP administration is behind
the world in terms of democratization," he
said. "They say the EU
is very much progressed. Progressed in what? We know how they shelter
terrorists." In
October, the European Commission published a progress report on Turkey's
reform agenda that was critical of its press freedom record, among other things. Although EU membership remains on Ankara's agenda, accession
has moved in fits and starts due in part to concerns about Turkey's press
freedom and judicial record.

Erdoğan's comments came two days after two
pro-government newspapers, Star and Yeni Akit, ran very similar stories that freely used the word "terrorist"
in describing critics. The papers targetedour colleagues at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which also concluded
that Turkey is the world's worst jailer of the press. Star accused RSF of "providing support to the members of the
terrorist organization MLKP," referring to the banned Marxist Leninist
Communist Party. In particular, the papers said RSF was paying Necati Abay,
longtime spokesman for the Platform of Solidarity with Arrested Journalists, a
group that has tried to bring the plight of imprisoned Turkish journalists to
light.

Abay, who now lives in exile in Germany,
has faced numerous criminal prosecutions over the years based on the unpopular
political views he has expressed as a journalist. Abay said this week that
while he is a member of RSF--just like thousands of journalists all over the
world--he has never received financial support from the group. He also
reiterated that he has no ties to the MLKP.

Star also questioned the
Committee to Protect Journalists. "It was confirmed that the lobby of outlaw
terrorist organizations was at the basis of the harsh criticisms of the
International Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) against Turkey," the paper said. Stories in both papers closely
echoed arguments made in recent government memos that have tried to rebut independent research on imprisoned
journalists.

The effect of these
comments and reports is to conflate critics with terrorists. When the
government and its allies link the EU or RSF or CPJ with terrorism, they are
essentially making the same case that state prosecutors make regularly against
journalists in Turkey. In indictment after indictment reviewed by CPJ,
prosecutors have said that journalists who express dissenting political views
are being directed by terrorist groups. Thus, the government reasons, they are themselves
terrorists.

These kinds of
attacks do nothing to change international public opinion, which is united in
the view that Turkey is the world's worst jailer of the press. In fact, they
reinforce the perception that an intolerant government deliberately conflates
critical expression with terrorism in order to intimidate its perceived
opponents.

UPDATE: RSF has put out a statement rebutting the allegations and calling them "grave, disgraceful, and absurd." Click here to read the press release.

Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He has written widely on media issues, contributing to Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Review of Books, World Policy Journal, Asahi Shimbun, and The Times of India. He has led numerous international missions to advance press freedom. His book, The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom, will be released November 11, 2014. Follow him on Twitter @Joelcpj. His public GPG encryption key can be found here.